This week, members of the TopRank Marketing team are off to Boston to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum. It’s no mystery that this conference put on by Ann Handley and the incredibly talented MarketingProfs team is one of our favorites.

In addition to our CEO Lee Odden speaking at the conference on the topic of influencer marketing, a few of our team members will be live blogging some of our favorite sessions and connecting with other marketers.

Below is a preview of some of the sessions we’re most excited about as well as some exclusive conference insights from MarketingProf’s Marketing Manager, Rob Zaleski.

Influencer marketing is a hot topic in the digital marketing world these days. Influencers not only add incredible insights, but also more depth, authority and credibility to your content and brand.

In his presentation, TopRank Marketing’s very own, Lee Odden, will help B2B marketers understand how romancing influencers can help scale quality content that is credible, trusted and amplified by contributors.

As part of the TopRank Marketing team, we’re excited to see our CEO in action. For other attendees, you should look forward to discovering influencer recruiting and outreach strategies, as well as the processes and tools that help make a successful influencer marketing program.

Session: How to Build An Owned Media Empire For Top Of Funnel B2B Content Domination

In his role at LinkedIn, Jason Miller is no stranger to dominating the content marketing game. In this session, you’ll take a rock n’ roll themed journey that will help you build a content strategy that drives true ROI.

At the end of this session you will be able to:

Identify conversations to own at the top of the funnel to better inform your content strategy

Understand and create the essential types of content that work best at the top of the funnel

Build an actionable dashboard for measuring success so you can earn your seat at the revenue table

Session: Are You A Marketer Or A Mind-Reader? How To Know What Your B2B Buyer Is Really Thinking

With nearly 94% of marketer using some form of content marketing strategy to reach their audience, it’s more important than ever for us to be the best possible answer for them. That means we need to know what they want and where they want to find it.

In his presentation, Matthew T. Grant, Director of Content Strategy for the Aberdeen Group, aims to help us marketers grow our mind-reading capabilities so we can focus our content marketing efforts on the different phases of the B2B buyer’s decision-making journey.

We’re really looking forward to seeing data, insights and real-life examples Matthew plans to share, as well as learning how we can better use content and data to execute a brilliant strategy.

Session: How To Build A World-Class B2B Thought Leadership And Corporate Evangelism Program

Creativity is an incredibly important aspect of any successful marketer or the programs that they work on. But sometimes it can be really, really hard to breakout of boring.

That’s something Jay Acunzo’s session aims to help with. In his presentation, which promises to be hilarious, the creator and host of Unthinkable will challenge you to rethink your abilities to create high-quality and high-quantity work that’s anything but run-of-the-mill.

We’re eager to learn his five creative secrets and to get the inspiration to do something we may not have ever thought of before.

Session: Beyond the Hype: How to Use “Account Based Everything” As Your Best Outbound Weapon

The term “account based marketing” is a hot topic among marketers around the world, and has become a looming strategy for many marketing departments for 2017. In this session, Jon Miller, CEO of Engagio introduces us to an effective way of approaching account based marketing.

Miller will walk the group through how B2B marketers are:

integrating modern marketing and sales development tactics to build the pipeline

expanding existing relationships

and connecting with more decision makers

The TopRank Marketing team is looking forward to learning how other B2B brands are applying this working knowledge to better target prospective customers.

#1 – What should attendees new to MPB2B expect to learn at the conference?

First and foremost, new attendees should expect to leave the conference with new friends, new ideas, and a renewed excitement for what they do. We have over 50 speakers, 30 sponsors, and hundreds of attendees, all who share a passion for our world of B2B marketing. Expect plenty of smart, actionable content on topics from account-based marketing to video content, and everything in between—with examples and case studies from actual B2B companies.

#2 – What are three “Conference Hacks” you’d recommend to people attending MPB2B?

Use the event app to get to know people before you arrive. There are so many great conversations already happening in our app, as well as people making plans to attend sessions, trade notes, and talk shop. Attendees continued to use the app for months after our event last year. It was amazing.

Follow the conference hashtag #mpb2b before, during, and after the event. Lots of people make plans on Twitter, and you’ll be able to find out what is going on during the event (and sometimes catch surprise announcements here and there). Plus, many people will share their notes after a conference. It’s a great way to crowd source a lot of the concurrent sessions you may have missed and stay abreast of the conversations around the event.

Attend networking events. Second to the educational content of sessions, the networking and evening events are where you really build memorable experiences and relationships that will last beyond the event. We have a Morning Mingle (speed networking to help those flying solo or just those who want to meet a lot of new people), a couple happy hours, and an evening event which all offer plenty of opportunities to get to know other attendees.

#3 – What does the theme of this year’s conference, “Build to Last” mean?

The “Build to Last” theme is all about going past the flash-in-the-pan, one-off ideas and about implementing sustainable strategies that let your marketing go the distance. It’s also applicable to the relationships you build. Taking the time to really get to know people and their passions make for memorable moments that carry on far beyond the event (and customer interactions). We want B2B Marketing Forum to be the place where you find ideas and relationships that will far outlast the week you’re here.

#4 – What are you looking forward to most at MPB2B?

My favorite thing about the event is the people. I get so pumped to be around the energy of marketers who are passionate and excited about what they do. As an employee at a remote company, it’s also great to have the opportunity to see all my coworkers in person. This will be my third B2B Marketing Forum, and I’m still friends with people I met in 2014, and excited to see some of them again in person this year. It really feels like a homecoming to me (and many of our staff and attendees). I’m also pumped to welcome so many new people into our world. It’s always a “more the merrier” atmosphere here.

How to Build Your B2B Marketing Empire From the Ground Up

This year, we partnered with MarketingProfs to bring you insights from some of our favorite speakers at the forum. Below you’ll get amazing insights on everything from how to approach your own career, to building a strong marketing team.

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Ashley Zeckman is the Senior Director of Digital Strategy for TopRank Marketing. In addition to finding innovative ways to showcase the exceptional work of her team, she is also responsible for creating digital marketing programs that drive customer acquisition and growth for the agency. Her background includes expertise in everything from content marketing strategy to branding, account management and social media.

Outside of her role at TopRank Online Marketing, Ashley prides herself on being a great home chef, painter, prankster and dog mom.

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